1" Sandbed users I need some feedback.

This week I plan on adding sand and rock work to my build. I would like to know some thoughts on using a 1" sandbed. I have heard 1" or less or 4" and more. I have a 54gal corner tank which are not known for being that easy the aquascape. So if any one has experience putting in the sand on a corner please help.

 

What do you want to know about?
I used to have a 1inch beds in alot of tanks and now I'm bare bottom.

using aqua-mags may help you scape that tank.

 

You said you had a 1" sand bed but now you have a BB what made you go BB?

 

I have heard the same basics. Stay away from the 3-5" sand beds. I am not an expert but from what I gather is that at around 2 years (approx - all tanks are different) that the bacterias in the sand will get to be so toxic that it can crash a tank. Now I have also read threads that people have had 4-5 inch sand beds for years with no issues. what I personally did was put a 2 1/2" - 3" sand bed in my display and 6" of sand in my fuge. Is this good, we will have to wait and see.

Good Luck
gg

 

clownfish that keep stirring up the sand and covering my corals. It provides a few other benefits.

such as: not having to worry about flow rates, also you can vacumm out the fish waste, interesting saltwater fish waste seems to turn into a chunky sand.



I will say I do use biopellets so I don't need the, denitrification benefits of a sand bed.

 

I have a 2" SB in my 29g DT. When I get my 75 set up, I think we will play around with that level a bit. I will start with 1" SB in the display and a 5" DSB in the fuge.

 

also one thing that people take for granted to have a correctly functioning sand bed you need small animals living in it, turning it over.

Mega predators will destroy the beds ecosystem, such as sand stars, sand shifter gobies.

I didn't have those small animals in my very first tank with a 4 inch bed, so the bed turned into a toxic soup after 4-5 years.

the shallower the bed the less important the ecosystem.

 

I did see John Warner's thread about ecoBAK. Would it not be beneficial to run both ecoBAK biopellets(in a reactor)and a refugium?

 

depend on the tank setup. The fuge is always beneficial for breeding pods. However in my tank the pellets stripped the water enough, I decide the puny macro growth wasn't worth it.

but my dad uses pellets and has better growth in his fuge then me(much bigger tank to).

 

I do have a refugium hanging off my sump with 1" of sand and a bunch of coral rubble on top of that. I have the coal rubble set up in a way that there is not a lot of contact between the sand and the coral rubble. My build is not up and running yet so I have the chance to change it over to a remote DSB. The only issue I have with that is the refugium is a small CPR Aquafuge so there is not a ton of room to play. With a DSB and coral rubble that might not leave a ton of room for macro algae.